


The Tale of King Koro

by PrezKoko



Category: Assassination Classroom, 弱虫ペダル | Yowamushi Pedal
Genre: Characters will be added as they appear - Freeform, Fantasy AU, Gen, Inspired by that one canon cover image, M/M, Medieval AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-03-18 01:24:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3550886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrezKoko/pseuds/PrezKoko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karma is a knight. Nagisa is an assassin. E Class is a guild and Korosensei is now King Koro.</p><p>Life was pretty good until Karma and Nagisa discover the biggest scandal within the royal courts. Now they're fighting back against the mysterious Shiro, Leader of the Palace Guards.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Nagisa could see it, he could see the danger behind everyone's smiles. Even though it seemed like a gentle chat on a bridge, Itona was simply waiting for the right moment to strike Karma down in one go.

And Karma knew it.

Shiro was still speaking, and although Nagisa vaguely registered the words, he was frantically looking around for an escape route.

They were on a pretty low bridge. But cargo boats coursed along the river beneath them like an endless conveyor belt. Even if he managed to get Karma to jump off the bridge with him at the same time, there was little chance they won't hit a boat.

Not to mention even if they do somehow manage to get into the water, there were too many motors to dodge. It could turn into suicide by mechanical boat motor blades.

Nagisa forced himself to calm down, there must be a way out of this.

His searched the boats, trying to judge the distance. Most of them held crates stacked precariously and none were stacked high enough for him and Karma to land without injuring themselves.

That was when he saw it. A barge travelling down with mattresses strapped to it. Only mattresses, secured onto the boat by string. Perhaps luck was on their side after all.

A loud thundering sound echoed through the streets and Nagisa watched as spear wielding foot soldiers reached both side of the bridge, pointing their spears forward so that Nagisa and Karma were trapped on both sides.

_Good thing that's not the escape route we’re using._

Nagisa glanced at the barge again, the boat with mattresses was only 50 meters away from the bridge. There was no time to warn Karma. He would have to push the two of them over at the exact time.

Gnawing at his bottom lip nervously, Nagisa subtly shifted his balance, getting ready to dash forward at the right moment.

"I don't think you quite understand the situation you're in," Shiro was saying. "You're surrounded, with no ways of escape and no hope of defeating Itona."

Karma shrugged casually, but Nagisa knew it was just a front. Even Karma can tell that they were horrendously outnumbered.

"You don't quite understand what you've done either, making an enemy of me,” Karma said. “I'm a very good knight, you know. Who's to say you won't find a sword through your heart before you can even give any sort of orders?"

Bluffs. But that was fine. Karma was protecting Nagisa, like always, directing attention away from him. He might even think that Nagisa would be able to slip away undetected if he just kept the attention on himself for long enough.

‘Well I did find an escape route,’ Nagisa thought. ‘But there's no way I'm leaving without you!’

The barge was sailing under the bridge. It was now or never.

Nagisa dashed forward with a burst of strength. Tackling Karma right in the middle. It was difficult, given Karma was wearing his armour, but thankfully the momentum was enough to push him over the side.

It was as if Nagisa could see it all in slow motion. He watched as Karma' face transformed into one of surprise, but his friend made no movements to stop him, trusting that Nagisa knew what he was doing.

Shiro and Itona looked surprised too, so much so that they didn't react quick enough to stop them. Nagisa could see their expressions as they fell through the air, surprise clear on Itona’s face, anger obvious from Shiro’s furrowed eyes.

And then they were on the mattresses, bouncing across the lumpy surfaces slightly more painful than Nagisa had anticipated. Not that it mattered, they’d made it! They escaped from the near hopeless situation from a single, well-timed jump.

But then Karma was suddenly on top of him, and Nagisa could hear the tell tale thunks as arrows reflected off the special reinforced armour.

Immediately, Nagisa curled in on himself, trying to reduce the space Karma was shielding. Not that it mattered.

Pain flashed across Karma’s face for a split second, before he tried to hide it. Nagisa stared in horror as colour drained from Karma’s face.

“Karma-kun!”

"I’m okay. It’s just a dagger,” Karma tried to grin through his pain, but it ended up being more of a grimace. “The canal bends soon, use that chance to jump off.”

“I’m not leaving without you!” Nagisa said automatically. But he knew that the bend would be the best chance to escape. He tucked himself beneath one of Karma’s arm and pushed himself up. “Can you walk a little? We’ll step off together.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Karma said, though he seemed to be getting a grip on the pain. “You have to reach the Guild.”

“We don’t have time to argue, Karma-kun!”

Karma didn’t respond, but he did try to stand up, leaning on Nagisa more than before. The canal bend zooms steadily closer, and at the point where the boat was only a single step away from the rest of the city, the two of them managed to stumble off the boat.

“Nagisa, I’m not going to be able to walk far. You need to go.” His voice was strained, which was surprising because even the best aimed dagger wouldn’t have managed to pierce any vital organs.

Then again, Shiro was a scientist. There was no telling what kind of poisons he’s created.

“I need to perform first aid,” Nagisa said, looking for somewhere he could set Karma down. “If that dagger had poison on it, we need to get it out.”

“No,” Karma insisted, voice marginally strong as he attempted to push Nagisa away. “You have to get to the Guild. You have to tell them.”

They were far enough away from the bridge to escape immediate pursuit. But they were still very much in the city. Other guards and soldiers were going to spot them soon. They had to hurry and pass the message to the Guild.

But he couldn’t let Karma die. That was not an option.

“There’s a pharmacy two streets away. I’ll get some medicine, just enough for you to move. And then we’ll both go to the Guild.”

“Nagisa,” Karma said, starting to sound frustrated. Karma never sounded frustrated. The wound must be more serious than Nagisa thought.

“I’m not letting you die,” Nagisa insisted, supporting Karma’s weight as they stepped towards the pharmacy.

Karma didn’t reply, but Nagisa didn’t know whether that was because Karma was fine with his plan or he simply didn’t have any energy left.

“Just a little more, Karma-kun.” They were in the middle of a courtyard, far more open than Nagisa was comfortable with, but the pharmacy was right there on the other side.

Karma was panting heavily, almost completely leaning on Nagisa now. Thankfully the courtyard was filled with people, milling about the fountain or doing their shopping.

“Just past here,” Nagisa said, trying to sound encouraging as they stumbled along. They’d just reached the fountain when Karma suddenly slumped against him completely, losing consciousness.

“Karma-kun?” Nagisa said in alarm. Too weak to support them both fully, he crashed to the ground.

“Karma-kun!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I really should have edit this fic a bit more but I just really had to post something and this was the nearest to its completion.
> 
> It's a bit clunky and lots of things can be improved but...nevermind. Next time. Hope you like it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wohoo! Second chapter up. This chapter was really fun to write. I hope you like it!

Having an unconscious person next to you tended to draw attention quickly. Even more so when that person was wearing armour.

“Karma-kun. Karma-kun!”

It was no use, Karma remained completely slumped against the fountain, dead to the world. His wound was bleeding still and Nagisa started to feel fear truly creep into his heart.

The poison must be making it through Karma’s system by now, but it wasn’t like Nagisa could just leave Karma there on the ground unconscious and defenseless.

Curious whispering echoed all around him. Looking up, Nagisa found that a crowd had gathered around them in minutes. None of them were getting close, wary of danger, but they were all staring at them as if they were an interesting side-show.

Nagisa might have found it exasperating, if he wasn’t so worried for Karma. The crowd felt like a prison, another hurdle to get over. He forced himself to calm down. Panicking was not going to help in anyway.

As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, the blare of a royal trumpet sounded behind the crowds.

"It's the Knights!" someone yelled.

The crowd parted and 6 gleaming riders stepped into the courtyard upon their horses.

 _Souhoku_ , Nagisa thought, noting the emblems that depicted which region each knight looked after. This was bad, they had to get out of here. At this rate they were going to get arrested. And if Shiro had his way, killed before the sun even set today.

Escape was essential. But how was he going to do it? Karma was injured. Nagisa was not going to be able to carry him, let alone fight against 6 knights.

"Sho, looks like Akabane's in trouble," a wiry knight with green hair said from his indigo mare. His eyes were down-turned, as if the entire situation felt tiring to him.

"What's with you redheads and causing trouble?" another knight boomed. He was large and bulky, looking very much like a boulder on top of his lithe horse.

"Shut up, old man!" someone at the back yelled.

Nagisa backed up a bit more against the fountain wall, shielding Karma from everyone. He was still trying to look for a way out, but in the meantime, he'll protect Karma to the best of his ability.

"What should we do, Kinjou?" the green haired one said with a sigh. "Doesn't look like the pipsqueak's going to hand Akabane over."

Kinjou.

Nagisa's heard of him. Everyone's heard of him. Kinjou was the captain of the Souhoku knights and widely agreed to be the most persistent fighter in the entire kingdom. Rumours had it that he once chased a murderer from one end of the country to the other and made an arrest just as the criminal was about to throw himself off White Chalk Cliff.

With Kinjou's team onto him, their chances of making it back to the guild just got a lot smaller.

Kinjou stared at him with his clear eyes and turned to look at Karma. Then, he gave the order that had Nagisa gritting his teeth in frustration. "Arrest them."

 _No reason to go down without a fight_ , Nagisa thought to himself as he silently gripped his knife.

"Alright, let's go redhead," the bulky man from before said. He swung off his horse with much more grace than Nagisa anticipated but the ground shook as he landed.

He could hear someone else land a little ways away, the telltale armour rattling sound echoing through the courtyard.

That was when Nagisa noticed the silence. All the spectators that had been murmuring amongst themselves had quietened the moment Kinjou gave his order. Now they were all just eagerly anticipating the show.

The knife shook in Nagisa's hand. Even as he kept it hidden from view.

 _Not until the last second._ He was being careful at how he held his knife, he couldn't let it out of its scabbard until the last second.

"Hey now, we're not going to hurt you," the burly man said. Up close, he was even bigger than Nagisa had imagined. Almost like a bear.

"That's not going to sound at all reassuring coming from you, old man." A short guy with bright red hair and sharp teeth walked into view. Nagisa felt surprised for a moment. The guy was tiny, Nagisa might even be able to take him in a fist fight. He was a Souhoku knight?

"Would you stop calling me 'old man'!" the big guy griped.

Redhead ignored him. He walked right up to Nagisa and grinned at him. "You're outnumbered. Let's make this easier for everyone and hand yourself ov-"

Nagisa struck.

His knife dashed up, blade slicing upwards, aiming for the redhead's left eye. And most of his face if he could manage that.

Unfortunately, the guy had incredibly fast reflexes, and he dodged back. The only proof that Nagisa even attacked being a slight cut on his eyebrow and a small trim off his red hair.

But that was okay. The attack was only a diversion.

In less than half a second, Nagisa brought his elbow forward, knocking it straight into the redhead's temple. In the same instance, he hook his fingers into the collar of the knight's armour and brought the guy forward and off-balance.

After that, it was only a matter of shifting his weight to bring the guy face down onto the floor. His knife now pressing against the back of the redhead's neck.

There was only one weakness amongst knights. They didn't like sacrificing anyone. Especially not one of their own.

Or so Karma had told him. Nagisa could only hope that Karma had been telling the truth.

There was a moment of stunned stares.

Then someone snorted. "That was pathetic, Naruko."

The knight who spoke was still sat upon his horse, not far from Kinjou. His narrow eyes were filled with sadistic amusement. Behind him, another knight held the reins to - Nagisa assumed - the redhead's horse. He looked nervous behind his round glasses.

"You shut up, hotshot!" the knight on the floor yelled into the ground. But Nagisa could feel he was being careful not to move.

The burly guy sighed while green-hair covered his face with a hand as if embarrassed for his comrade.

"I demand a clear passage out of the city," Nagisa said as confidently as he could. He didn't want to kill anyone. But there was no way he could let Karma die.

Kinjou was still staring, being the only one who had not shown any emotion during the exchange. Nagisa really hoped that Kinjou wasn't the exception to what Karma told him about knights.

"We don't negotiate." Kinjou said.

Nagisa gritted his teeth. "It's not a negotiation. I will kill him if you don't let us go."

Kinjou falls silent for a moment. Beneath Nagisa, the redhead completely relaxed his body.

 _Trust._ And also acceptance. This was bad, the knight on the ground was perfectly prepared to die. This lowered Nagisa's leverage.

"Why are you helping him?" Kinjou asked after a moment. "He's a knight. You appear to be either a commoner, or more likely, a lowly thief."

 _I'm not a thief! I'm a rebel!_ Nagisa wanted to yell. But that wouldn't help the situation any, so he held his tongue.

He had to turn the situation back around. "Are you okay with giving the life of one of your knights to a 'lowly thief'?" he asked.

"None of my knights will die here," Kinjou said with such conviction that Nagisa wondered if the guy could read his mind, could see the reluctance Nagisa had in killing anyone.

The green-haired knight spoke up. "You're outnumbered you know. Look around more."

Nagisa blinked. And as if on cue, he felt the gentle tap of a sword resting across his shoulder, its sharp blade tickling his neck.

"You should be careful of your surroundings, little thief," the man behind him said.

"Put the knife down." Kinjou said.

Nagisa could feel tears of frustration welling up. But he would be more useless to Karma if he was dead. He put his knife down.

A gauntlet rested on his head. "Good boy," the man - knight - behind him said. The sword was taken away but there was no sound of it being sheathed. They were still weary of him.

Nagisa bit his lip, but got up off the knight on the ground.

"Naruko-kun!" the flustered looking knight with round glasses immediately rushed forward, helping the redhead back to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. No way something like that could have hurt me." It sounded so confident that it took Nagisa a moment to notice it was only bravado.

Narrow-eyes got off his horse and stepped closer, the amused smirk still on his face. "That was really pathetic."

"Be quiet! As if you could have dodged a knife that fast. Be thankful the captain got me to come down instead of you."

"I would have dodged _and_ disarmed him."

As the two bickered, the green-haired man sighed and looked over at the guy still standing behind Nagisa. "What are you even doing here?"

"I came to see you, Maki-chan!"

"We saw each other this morning."

It was disconcerting, to have the knights speak so casually around him. Burly guy was tying Nagisa's hand behind his back with some rope. Then went to pick Karma up off the ground.

Karma's face was pale, and he was still unconscious, not waking even when he was dumped onto the horse like a saddle.

Nagisa forced his erratic heartbeat to calm. There was a way, there was still a way out of this situation.

"Up you go," the burly man hoisted Nagisa up onto his horse. For a moment, Nagisa wobbled as he tried to keep his balance, wrists tugging at his bound hand fruitlessly.

Surprisingly, the rope loosened with little resistance. Nagisa blinked in confusion. Then three things about his current situation flooded his mind.

One. His hands were free.

Two. He was on a horse with Karma.

Three. All the knights were standing on the ground. Even green-hair had got off his horse to talk to the ninja knight that had snuck up behind Nagisa.

There was no need to even think about this. Nagisa pulled the rest of his bindings loose and grabbed the reins.

People screamed and ran in all directions as Nagisa tore through the city on the stolen horse. He could hear the knights yell behind him but forced himself to look forward. He had to get to the guild, that was the one thing he must focus on. Turning back to look would only delay him.

Within a minute, he had escaped into the suburbs. Seconds after that he was on a winding dirt road with cluster of houses falling behind him into the far distant. The guild was on the left of the fork about half a mile ahead. They would be able to help, and Okuda-san was good with poisons. Nagisa pressed on.

He had just reached the abandoned mill when two horses galloped into the road in front him. If he didn't know better, he would have thought they had been waiting for him.

Apparently he _didn't_ know better, because the horses slowed down to match his speed, until he was sandwiched between the two.

"I don't have any money," Nagisa said immediately. Under better circumstances, he might have been able to say something more influential to get these guys off his back. But Karma needed a doctor and Nagisa was starting to panic again.

"Relax, we're not here for that," the guy on the right said, smiling at him. Both men were wearing a hood and cape, but Nagisa could see a wisp of curly hair under the hood of the guy who spoke. "Just want to chat for a bit."

"I'm sorry but I really don't have time."

"It won't take long," Perm-head said, smiling wryly.

Nagisa gritted his teeth. He didn't want to speed up even more, since it might aggravate Karma's wounds, but he had to get rid of these guys.

He gripped the reins, planning to urge his horse to accelerate when they reach the fork, but the blond guy on the left reached and grabbed horse's muzzle.

"You shouldn't speed up anymore," Perm guy said, he nodded at Karma. "It'll make his wounds even worse."

Nagisa glared at him, his frustrations seeping out of every pore in his body.

"No need for that, we only want to talk." Perm-head smiled, lifting parts of his cloak up. The Sohoku emblem gleamed on his chest.

 _Knights._ Knights without their armour. How deceptive of them.

"We've prepared a safe house," the knight continued. "Turn right at the fork."

There was little choice, but even as Nagisa was led away from the road towards the guild, he wondered why it took him so long to realise the entire thing must have been a set up. Should have known when the burly knight tied his wrists together too loosely.

Nagisa could only hope this detour won’t cost Karma his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The yowapedal guys appear haha! But the focus is still the Assassination Classroom lot. Yowapedal will play a big part though, so if you don't know the series...go read it. (It's really good!)


End file.
